The city’s recent string of arsons left Rob Hall’s truck in ashes, and the 51-year-old Merrittonian without a livelihood for several weeks.
Rob Hall almost cried when he saw what happened to his rig.
The 51-year-old Merrittonian was driving a logging truck for Don Brown Trucking until the ill-fated night of June 13.
At about 3 a.m. that night, Hall’s truck and three others went up in flames in a case of arson.
The vehicle he needed to make ends meet was completely destroyed, throwing his life a curveball.
“You get off work and everything is good,” Hall said. “Then you get a phone call.”
When Hall received that call from work informing him he wouldn’t be needed Monday, he thought the fire was just a joke and went to see the burnt trucks for himself.
“It wasn’t a good feeling at all,” Hall said.
The unemployed Hall is now taking matters into his own hands.
With more than 30 years of trucking experience and a carpentry background, Hall is looking for any odd jobs he can get while he waits to get back to work.
“It doesn’t have to be big money, I just need enough to pay the rent and get some food,” Hall said.
He said his wife recently had stomach surgery and wants to be by her side, so he doesn’t want to have to leave town to find other jobs.
It’s estimated Hall won’t be able to return to his old job for at least a month.
Unfortunately, being unemployed for stretches of time has been a common occurrence for Hall the past nine months.
Hall just returned to driving his truck after being laid off for a month due to the breakup season.
Breakup occurs in the spring when wet conditions make roads muddy and prone to damage from logging trucks, causing operations to pause.
“I just can’t afford to be sitting for a month, especially right after breakup, no money saved up, all the money’s gone,” Hall said of his current predicament.
“It’s going to be tough,” he said.
Last September, while driving a logging truck for a different company, Hall was involved in a single vehicle crash along Highway 3. When turning a corner, his load shifted and his truck tipped over. Hall had some minor injuries, but was put out of work from them for a few months before returning to work near the tail end of the year.
“It’s been impossible to save any money,” Hall said.
Hall and three other employees were left jobless by these arsons.
Not working is costing him about $300 per day.
He said he’s lucky that he doesn’t have many large bills to pay — rent and groceries being two of his biggest concerns — but he did point out some of the other drivers who lost their jobs have house and car payments to make and children to feed.
Hall said he can’t understand why anyone would set those fires.
“I sure hope [the police] catch the people that did it, or the person, or persons,” he said.
In the meantime, Hall said he’ll deal with his current situation on a day-to-day basis, and always with a smile.
